United defeats Comets in pre-season friendly

Adelaide United have beaten Adelaide Comets 1-2 in a pre-season friendly at the South Australian Athletics Stadium, with a goals from Dylan McGowan and George Mells proving the difference between the two sides.

Dylan McGowan’s back-post header just before the half-hour mark and George Mells’ wonderful, outside-of-the-boot strike were enough to give Adelaide United the win against local FFSA National Premier League side, Adelaide Comets.

With the first half commencing at a fast pace, both sides were desperate to get hold of the ball and control the early stages of the match.

The majority of the play, however, was stuck in the midfield, with the narrow SA Athletics Stadium pitch causing a scrappy opening quarter of an hour.

As a result, chances were few and far between, with both sides unable to muster any clear-cut opportunities and failing to truly test the goalkeepers.

But once Mate Duganzic switched from the right flank to utilise his pace on the left, the game began to open up.

Almost instantly, Dugandzic got in behind his defender, drawing a foul, and whipping the resulting free-kick towards the back-post where McGowan popped up to nod the ball home on the stroke of the 28th minute.

The remainder of the first half played out similar to its start, with the majority of the ball stuck in the middle of the park and few chances created.

Into the second half and it was a much more open affair, as both sides enjoyed more freedom to explore the park, yet still primarily creating somewhat half-chances.

Although it didn’t take long for United to double their lead, after a mistake from the Comets ‘keeper allowed Mells to latch onto a sweet volley with the outside of his right boot, which sailed into the top corner.

Comets did manage to get a goal back through a well-taken Samuel Tesfaqabr header, however the Reds’ experience and resolute defending ensured our undefeated pre-season continued.

Following the match, Adelaide United Head Coach, Guillermo Amor, praised his side’s efforts, adding the match was crucial to the development of his squad ahead of the upcoming season.

“Tonight was another important game for us because it’s part of our preparation for our upcoming season and these kinds of games are good for us to get ready for it,” Amor explained.

“We need to give minutes to our players and that’s what we were able to do tonight in what was a tough fight for us.

“I’m happy with the way that we played and we gave some of our young players a chance, but now we will go to Melbourne to play Melbourne City and our preparation will keep going.”